Evangline Lilly explains why she's so miffed by the staggered international release date of Ant-Man and The Wasp Starring Paul Rudd and Lilly as the title characters, the film is the hotly anticipated sequel to the 2015 summer blockbuster that introduced fans to one of Marvel's lesser known comic book properties. The film developed a huge following thanks to Rudd's whimsical portrayal of Scott Lang/Ant-Man and Lilly's spunky turn as Hope van Dyne, who we learn in one of the end credit scenes would inherit her mother's mantle as The Wasp.

Now, nearly three years after the release of Ant-Man, Earth's tiniest superhero and his new partner are returning for the much-anticipated sequel, which will make its domestic debut on July 6. But unlike the two previous Marvel Cinematic Universe releases this year - Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War - fans in the UK will have to wait nearly a month longer to see Ant-Man and The Wasp. The move to delay the release across the pond, as explained by Marvel, is in an effort to avoid head-to-head competition with the immensely popular World Cup soccer tournament.

In an interview with Empire Magazine, Lilly slams the move, saying fans will be more apt now to see the film illegally, saying, "What happens is people just pirate the movie and they see it in the worst way possible, like some sh-tty version online, instead of going to a theater. They go in the end, but I don't like that staggering. I'm really going to get to the bottom of this for you. I'm as pissed off about it as you are." Rudd, who was also being interviewed, appeared to try to put a lighter spin on the problem, adding, "I don't understand. Let me see if we can maybe get the World Cup moved."

Ant-Man and the Wasp UK

Rudd's joking aside, Lilly has a great point about the ongoing problem of movie piracy, which will no doubt become a problem with the film's release in the U.S. Presuming there's critical praise for the film and positive word-of-mouth by moviegoers (plus a huge box office return will be a healthy indicator that the film is worth seeing), fans in the U.K. may become very impatient with waiting to see the film. As a result, they could be tempted to seek out pirated copies, no matter how poor the quality of the film is, as Lilly suggests.

Marvel at the same time, does have a legitimate concern, and would be risking a lot by putting out a high-profile film against an event that the studios claim decimates movie attendance. One thing they may not be accounting for, however, is that not all movie fans in the U.K. are also World Cup fans. After all, they are two distinctively different forms of entertainment. However, since the studio clearly felt the World Cup was a threat, perhaps they should have considered releasing Ant-Man and The Wasp earlier than its domestic release, a la Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Rolling out overseas over the past few weeks, the film has already earned more than $372 million overseas.

Time will only tell if Marvel's staggered release strategy worked or not, which will be reflected in the final tally of the box office in the U.K. after it opens there August 3.

NEXT: Ant-Man & The Wasp Set Visit Report

Source: Empire Magazine [via Comic Book Movie]

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